Asche showing a surprising polish

CLEARWATER, Fla. – When the subject of athletics at the University of Nebraska is broached, typically football is king.

However, the Cornhuskers have done a pretty nice job of supplying Major League Baseball with some quality talent. Darin Erstad was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1995 draft, Alex Gordon was the No. 2 selection in 2005, with both living up to high expectations.

In 2011 the Phillies drafted Cody Asche in the fourth round, but if you visited his numbers in that first professional season, you would have assumed he was a light-hitting middle infielder destined for ... well, nothing much.

Yet by the end of 2012, Asche was the Phillies’ best hope for a long-term solution at third base that Michael Young is attempting to fill for 2013.

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After being drafted in the fourth round out of Nebraska in 2011, the 22-year-old hit below the Mendoza Line for the short-Class A Williamsport (.192, two HRs in 239 ABs) while playing second base for the remainder of that year. Yet the organization didn’t let their faith waver in him. He started last season as the everyday third baseman high-Class A Clearwater, where he hit a scorching .349 for the Threshers before getting promoted to Double-A Reading. Once there, his power number started to blossom, as he hit .300 with 20 doubles, 10 homers and 47 RBIs in just 68 games.

This year the Phillies threw an incentive to Asche – a non-roster invitation to big-league spring training. He has gotten opportunities to show his stuff in games, and has been surprisingly polished both at the plate and in the field. After going 2-for-3 with a walk as one of the few Phillies’ highlights in a 15-2 pasting from the Dominican Republic’s World Baseball Classic squad, Asche is 5-for-13 this spring.

“I’ve had a great opportunity,” he said. “Once I found out I was coming to camp I told myself, ‘Just take it one day at a time, embrace every opportunity you get, because it can be your last one (before being sent to the minors.)’ So that’s how I’m viewing it.”

It might seem surprising to see Asche progress so swiftly after that rough first season as a pro, but that has been his M.O. as a baseball player for a while. Despite going to a Division I school on a baseball scholarship, he wasn’t so much as drafted as a high schooler at Fort Zumwalt West in his hometown of O’Fallon, Mo.

One of the hitting instructors that helped Asche turn a corner last year was Steve Henderson, who was named hitting coach of the Phillies after Greg Gross was fired. It is a familiar face in an unfamiliar territory, and it helps.

“I’ve worked with him numerous times over the past two years,” Asche said, “so having someone that’s familiar with you and you’re familiar with him always helps. He knows my swing, the little things that make me tick. He knows what to look for if I’m off, and the right things to say to get me back on track.

“I think that’s the natural process of a young hitter. The more at-bats you get, the more experience you’ll get and make those little adjustments. The coaches here help you with that.”

Cody Asche has been moving up the ranks quickly. In 1995 the Phillies had another third-base prospect who split time between Clearwater and Reading. He started the next season in Double-A, moved to Triple-A after a couple of months. Scott Rolen was in Philly by September of 1996, and the everyday third baseman to open 1997 as a 22-year-old.

A full year in the minors this season would get Asche close to the same amount of minor-league plate appearances Rolen had. With Michael Young only signed through this season, there could be an opening for the kid from Nebraska to fill in 2014.

This week he has gotten requests from Nebraska radio stations to do interviews with them. They are paying attention out there, and Asche believes there isn’t that much distance between Lincoln, Neb., and Philadelphia.

“I think it comes with the territory with being an athlete at Nebraska,” he said. “They love sports there and are similar to Philly fans – really knowledgeable about everything that’s going on. Once you finish playing there, they are going to follow you.

“There’s a rich fan base that loves baseball there.”

As there is in Philadelphia.

It might not be long before he gets a phone call from there, telling him to pack his bags for Citizens Bank Park.